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DEGENERATION

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2010

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Summary

I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw and considered it well; I looked upon it and received instruction.

—Solomon.

“How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?

Hebrews.

“We have as possibilities either Balance, or Elaboration, or Degeneration.”

E. Ray Lankester.

In one of his best known books, Mr. Darwin brings out a fact which may be illustrated in some such way as this: Suppose a bird fancier collects a flock of tame pigeons distinguished by all the infinite ornamentations of their race. They are of all kinds, of every shade of colour, and adorned with every variety of marking. He takes them to an uninhabited island and allows-them to fly off wild into the woods. They found a colony there, and after the lapse of many years the owner returns to the spot. He will find that a remarkable change has taken place in the interval. The birds, or their descendants rather, have all become changed into the same colour. The black, the white and the dun, the striped, the spotted, and the ringed, are all metamorphosed into one—a dark slaty blue.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009
First published in: 1883

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  • DEGENERATION
  • Henry Drummond
  • Book: Natural Law in the Spiritual World
  • Online publication: 29 August 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511692703.004
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  • DEGENERATION
  • Henry Drummond
  • Book: Natural Law in the Spiritual World
  • Online publication: 29 August 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511692703.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • DEGENERATION
  • Henry Drummond
  • Book: Natural Law in the Spiritual World
  • Online publication: 29 August 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511692703.004
Available formats
×